Let's Forget All Common Sense
by TunaForDesert
Summary: Aomine sees shadows. Kuroko sees numbers. They compromised. AoKuro [Half AU]


_Suggested soundtracks: Clarity (Zedd) Battlefield (Jordan Sparks)_

_Start._

* * *

For as long as Aomine Daiki could remember, he had always been in the possession of the strange ability of seeing shadows. It was a rare ability, but not so much that he would set a troop of scientist and special service trailing after his behind. And just like any sensible rare eye-owner, he kept his mouth shut. Bragging about it would only bring unwanted adversity to his calm and ordinary school life.

Many assumed that the reveled ace of Teiko did not have an eye of his own. Their mouth was soon shut after Aomine spouted what lies beneath their human skin. There were some who wore their hearts on their sleeve, but many more hid theirs away from the public. Take his teammates for example. They buried so much. But Aomine always, _always,_ saw who they truly were.

The shadows were creatures the shape of scones. Just like humans, their skin tone and sizes varied. Aomine's own shadow was a three inches malicious little shit who shared the color of his tanned skin. They always argued, or rather, Aomine argued with it. It was capable of sentences, but it always spoke in mechanical and baby-ish way. Its sole existence was to annoy him, Aomine was sure of it.

It mocked everything Aomine did; copying his trademark phrases and had a permanent scowl on its face. Aomine could never get rid of it. He'd tried. It always found its way back via air and delivering a roundhouse kick to Aomine's head or face while it was at it. How it managed that when it had no legs was a complete mystery even to Aomine. Their only similarities were their love for big boobs, teriyaki burgers and Tetsu.

It loved Tetsu. Very much so that it scared him.

Another thing that scared him was Tetsu's shadow. It was a massive seven foot tall scone with devil-may-care permanent expression. It was a few shades lighter than Aomine's skin, and that made it scarier. Aomine was pretty sure Tetsu was a big softie on the inside the first time they met. A few days later, he was no longer so sure. Tetsu's shadow was an enormous, gigantic peanut flavored scone with unsettling anger issues. Most days, it only stared into space. Other days, it shot dry angry looks at everyone and everything. Including Aomine.

Aomine had learned to trust what he saw. But Tetsu and his shadow did not match at all. How did Tetsu manage to hide his anger beneath that calm exterior as if it was something he did every second?

Akashi's shadow was interesting, yes, because it was the saddest thing Aomine had ever seen. It reached up to Akashi's knees, meek and never looked up. It was a pale thing with squinty eyes and thin body, hiding behind Akashi's left knee most of the times and clutching it tightly as if he would leave. It flinched whenever somebody got to close too Akashi, and trembled when he was touched, in any way or form. Aomine wondered if that was what Akashi felt all the time. It contradicted too much with what Akashi showed. Just like Tetsu's.

Midorima's shadow was a seven inches cute mint flavored scone. Its home was Midorima's head, looking at everyone with huge warm smiles and hiccup which could be happy laugh. Whenever somebody was injured or sick, it screamed funny mewling sounds and pulled at Midorima's hair with its teeth-less mouth, probably asking its master to go over so it could help. Of course, Midorima never answered because he could not see or hear it. But it amused Aomine every time Midorima unconsciously complied, tending to the injured with scowls and lectures while his shadow hopped on to the person's head and nuzzling their hair.

Kise's shadow whined and cried too much for Aomine's liking. But he always found himself patting its head whenever he could help it. It was a big sized honey colored scone that reached Kise's waist. When he said big, he meant big. It could probably snap Akashi's shadow into half. It was also pretty needy, and a huge cuddle loving baby. It resented Aomine, however, always pushing him away with its head whenever he got too close. Of course, the push only presented a better chance for Aomine to reach out to pat its head whilst it whined for being treated like an inferior being.

There was almost nothing to say about Murasakibara's dark purple thumb-sized shadow; aside from the fact that it had intelligent eyes that always stared at everyone like it knew their deepest and ugliest secret. The only time it could get excited was when Murasakibara was holding a basketball.

Back to Tetsu and his shadow; what Aomine saw when he uttered the careless and pained words that pretty much broke whatever left of their friendship on that rainy afternoon would be forever etched into his mind. Tetsu's shadow stared straight at him, eyes only a few shades darker than its skin and a horrible scowl that it sent his stomach into knots. It was the angriest Aomine had ever seen it.

When Tetsu resigned from the club, he often wondered what kind of face it was making. Probably murderous.

When high school came and he seek out Kagami, he found out Kagami's shadow was a fat orange three inches sized scone. It wore a permanent stupid grin that reminded Aomine of the old him.

He had been anxious-and kind of scared-of meeting Tetsu again. Perhaps this time his shadow would really crumpled Aomine under its massive body. After all, all those anger added with what Aomine did to its master could probably snap people out of their sanity. What he saw at the championship league was not what he had expected.

It was pretty much lifeless; trudging after Tetsu slowly as if being ran over by a truck would not be enough to wake it up from the trance. Its eyes flickered over to Aomine. It only lasted for a split second before it looked down at the floor again. Aomine's shadow was sneering at him, but he ignored it and played.

When the game was over and Seirin's score was doubled, Tetsu's shadow, which was sitting at Seirin's bench, looked down hopelessly. Its eyes turned sadder and it looked a second away from crying. Aomine had been tempted to run to it and hug it, but he stomped down the urge and looked away.

At the hot spring later, it had grown out of the depressed state and the angry scowl Aomine got for his trouble of giving Tetsu the drink had almost been worth it. It was still incomparable to the old days, but at least it was familiar. Later, when Kagami barged into the conversation, his fat orange shadow leaped onto Tetsu's shadow's head. Aomine stared at it for the longest time, wondering how in the world was that possible.

Later, when Aomine worked out all his issues and taught Tetsu how to shoot, when it felt nothing like the old times but something new and at the same time grim, Aomine leaned against the seven foot tall scone, hoping that it would get the message that Aomine was sorry. It nudged Aomine to the direction of its master, which was pretty much saying that yes, it was alright. He was forgiven.

The longer time he spent with Tetsu, the more he noticed how much Tetsu had changed. Tetsu smiled more nowadays, more so whenever that stupid Kagami was around. Aomine felt a stir he hadn't felt for months. It was the kind of feelings he got when Kise hogged Tetsu's attention or when he felt that Akashi was being too touchy feely with his partner.

XXX

Aomine knew for a fact that all of his former teammates were eye-owners. Kise and Akashi were always being painfully obvious it almost made Aomine wanted to deck their heads the first time he saw them played. Kise's eye was not a common one, but it was relatively ordinary in its ability of recording human's movements down to its smallest details. Akashi's eye was the more powerful one, but that also was quite common in their school. The ability to always be one or even ten steps ahead of anyone. Akashi was known for having the most powerful future-eye. It was the most advanced that it scared quite a number of people.

Murasakibara and Midorima never spoke of their eyes. But, Aomine has his and he knew what he saw.

He knew that Murasakibara saw the ugliest and lowest of people. It was related to how his shadow seemed like it had thousands of painful experience while Murasakibara could never bring himself to completely care about somebody. The closest had been Akashi, and even that was probably spurred from how sad Akashi truly was from the inside.

Midorima's happy hidden side was because he saw the most beautiful thing in life: love. Aomine had a powerful hunch that it was probably the red-string-eye. For what else did Midorima taped his fingers? And he had a habit of staring at somebody's pinky. And they thought Aomine was not the most discreet one in the team.

The only one that remained a mystery to him was Tetsu. It was probably related to his shadow operated. But no books had ever gotten close to give Aomine a hint of what it probably was. Not ones that he wanted to know, anyway. There were the nasty ones, but Tetsu would sooner go insane than living for a day with one of those eyes.

XXX

"Dai-chan, you've been looking gray lately. Is there something wrong?"

Having a girl friend was the best thing a guy could probably ever ask for, but right now Aomine felt not such sentiment. Satsuki's color-eye was too troublesome and it was not the first time Aomine had felt annoyed with it. He probably should never have given Momoi that color-reading book for her seventh birthday. It was still the girl's most treasured possession to this day, however, so Aomine could not really complain.

"Do I?"

Satsuki's brows furrowed. "Well, you're blue, to be exact. It ranged from dark blue, the sad one, and to the beautiful aqua blue, the contented one. You're a walking contradiction and that's why I said you look gray. You're confused." Her rat sized pale pink shadow mewled from where it was perched on her left shoulder. It was worried about Aomine.

"It's nothing."

Her lips pursed. "It's about Tetsu-kun, isn't it?"

She nailed him. Winter Cup was over. And Aomine admitted that it was nice to finally be able to talk with Tetsu again. You know, without his seven foot tall shadow shooting glares or giving sad eyes at Aomine. The same could not be said for Kagami, however. His shadow remained fat and happy, and it got on Aomine's nerve almost as much as his own shadow did.

"I think I like Tetsu. More than as a friend, that is."

She blinked once, before smiling, almost laughing. "Oh, Dai-chan. Have you finally realized that? Or were you just finished with your denial phase?"

"I don't know if he would like me. Or if he even likes guys for that matter."

"There's something more to that, isn't it?" She was smiling the familiar all-knowing grin.

After a few more seconds of internal struggle, Aomine decided to tell her when it was obvious she would find out all by herself anyway. "It's Kagami."

"Dai-chan!" she gasped, almost horrified. "Don't tell me you like him too?!"

He gave her the dubious look. "Don't be stupid."

She put aside her sandwich and leaned against him. The wind picked up, sending her hair fluttering forward. They were on the rooftop for lunch break. Sadly enough, there was nobody who shared the sentiment of having lunch on the cold rooftop with him, aside from Satsuki.

"Dai-chan, I know your eye. I know that's what made you hesitate. Whatever you saw has been affecting you for a long time. It was why you never made a move on Tetsu-kun. Because you're afraid of something you saw in him."

It was his turn to scrunch his eyebrow. "No I'm not. I'm just confused."

She chuckled. "Dai-chan, how long have I known you?"

It wasn't that he was afraid. Okay. Maybe he was a bit afraid. Afraid of what Tetsu might hide beneath that expressionless exterior. He always had a pretty good grasp on people's personality. But Tetsu was different. Satsuki was wrong about him. Tetsu was the walking contradiction. Not him.

His shadow was angry. Always angry. And maybe a bit sad. That was what confused him the most. What would Tetsu be angry about? Envious of their talents? No. Tetsu was not that kind of person. What was it that his eye saw that made him so angry with the world? Whatever it was, it probably was not one of those common and pleasant ones. Midorima was one lucky bastard and he had no idea of it.

XXX

Aomine had done many stupid things in his life, but calling out Midorima probably even topped putting peanut butter into Nijimura's chicken. They met up at a family restaurant. Midorima vehemently refused to step a foot into the fast food restaurant Aomine, Kuroko, and now he knew Kagami frequented.

Midorima's cute shadow squealed happily upon seeing Aomine, and he did not have the heart to ignore it so he pasted on a brief smile before turning to Midorima with calm eyes. They ordered different set of meals. Aomine already had his coke so he ordered a pancake. Midorima, who hadn't eaten lunch yet, ordered a set B. Aomine's treat.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Your eye is the red-string-eye, isn't it?"

Midorima looked around frantically. He turned to Aomine with a scowl. "Who told you that? And don't say it out loud."

Aomine shrugged. "I just knew. What I want to ask today is related to your eye."

"Oh God," Midorima's face twisted into one of pain, "Not this one. I will be breaking a taboo."

"Come on. It's just me. Besides, nobody knows about you meeting up with me today, right?"

"It doesn't matter." He scowled. "I knew I shouldn't have come. I'm leaving."

"You want to know what my eye can see?"

Midorima had always been wary of Aomine, even without ever knowing what his eye could see. It was the way Aomine fended off Satsuki's violent admirers. The former Teiko regulars had seen Aomine did it once and wished to never be present if it ever happened again. Aomine attacked them with words. He did not even have to lift a finger or toe as he narrated what he knew would awaken the fear inside the thugs. They acted tough on the outside but Aomine knew how they truly were on the inside. He did not need to know what actually happened. He only needed to speak out what they felt.

The look of pure horror directed at him scared even his friends. Aomine knew that kind of assault was one of the worst. He could break a person's mentality should he ever wished to do so. It would be like snatching a candy from an infant's hand. His friends were wary of him, but they did not drift away.

Tempted, Midorima sat down reluctantly. Their orders arrived just in time to break what would be a very awkward silence. They ate in silence. Neither of them wished to indulge the other in small talk when both knew they would finally get what they wanted.

For Midorima, it was to cure his thirst for knowledge as rare as this one. For Aomine, it was for a chance to turn back. One answer from Midorima would decide what he might do in the future.

"You wish to know who is it tied to you on the other end of your red string, don't you?"

"Not really."

His old friend looked confused. "Then what is it?"

Sighing, Aomine propped his chin on his palm. His eyes were drawn to the street. By habit, or even soul mate instinct or whatever bull Kise would like to call it, his eyes found a familiar tuff of blue sky hair. The owner struggled against the current of people. Aomine's heart ached in longing.

Midorima turned to see what Aomine saw, and sighed when a pair of bewildered blue eyes turned to them.

"Honestly, I don't need to see this."

"Hey, Midorima," Aomine whispered, a hand pressed against the cold glass and slid off to make a mark of finger, hoping that it would somehow erase the image of Tetsu walking towards them. "You know what I'm asking right?"

Midorima put down his tea and secured his bag on his shoulders. He got up and put money on the table, even when Aomine already said it would his treat. Tetsu was closer now.

"Even if you two are not tied by fate, I don't think somebody as stubborn as you would ever let it get in the way. You treasured him too much to give him up."

Midorima blushed up to his roots when he said this. He would make a fine male Aphrodite. He walked away, greeting Tetsu on the doorway before disappearing. Aomine did not want to make Tetsu's shadow wait outside in the snow alone, so he put his money on the table too and made his way to Tetsu.

They walked through the snow to the station. The wind really picked up now. It felt like there would be a blizzard.

"I'm surprised you were there with Midorima-kun. What were you two talking about?"

"Stuffs. I mean, real important stuffs. Not just any stuffs."

Tetsu hummed, walking closer beside him that he could almost feel the heat from his body.

Aomine did not know what compelled him to ask. It was clear now that he was tied to Tetsu by fate. He should confessed his undying love to Tetsu, promised a happily ever after for him so his shadow would quit that anger that probably choked Tetsu so hard he could hardly breathe.

"What's your eye?"

Tetsu stopped, looked at him dead in the eyes and Aomine had a feeling it was not really him Tetsu was looking at.

"Why are you asking now, Aomine-kun?"

"Because this might be the only chance I have."

"And you couldn't have asked sooner?"

It was very brief, but Aomine saw the real Tetsu for a moment. His grip tightened around the sling of his bag.

"I admit it. I was a coward. I ran away from the truth, because I can't handle it. I'm sorry."

Tetsu's eyes softened. He reached out to take Aomine's hand in his, tugging the taller teen to start walking again.

"I'm sorry too. I had a feeling of what Aomine-kun's eye is. I should have talked about this to you sooner."

Aomine shook his head, tightening his grip on Tetsu's hand. "I don't think I would have been prepared beforehand. You don't have it easy either."

It scared him. There are some real nasty eyes out there. Most of the owners were either locked up, went insane or famous. What could Tetsu's be like? Perhaps it was not really a deadly one, he assured himself. If it was, Tetsu wouldn't be here with him, talking and snapping like a normal person.

"I see people for what they truly are, Tetsu. These things called shadow are the reflection of how people are from the inside. There are some real good ones, like Midorima. Some so sad I can't bear to look at it. Some irritating but that's because they had their own problem. There are also bad ones that I'd rather not encounter. Unfortunately, lots people had that shadow."

"That sounds like a really helpful eye." Tetsu commented. It really was. But at the same time it was a curse.

"What about yours?"

"What about mine?"

He scowled. Tetsu's shadow returned it but right now he was talking to Tetsu. Not the seven foot tall scone behind him. "I want to know what you see. So I can move on."

"Oh," Tetsu looked down. "I don't think it's a good idea, Aomine-kun."

It was a stupid thing to say from his part, but he said, "Oh? So I guess it's a bad idea to let me know while Kagami does?"

"Kagami-kun doesn't know. Nobody does, except my parents."

There was silence.

"Please Tetsu." He pleaded. "You know, I asked Midorima about our strings. Fate gives me a green light. But if you can't trust me with this one, I don't think we can compromise with anything for the rest of our lives."

"You asked- never mind." Tetsu looked exasperated. "I should have known it would be you asking for the meeting for a completely ridiculous reason."

"Hey," Aomine defended, "it was a perfectly fine reason. We wouldn't be having this talk right now if I hadn't asked Midorima."

"If our strings are connected, why ask?" Tetsu looked up, honestly earnest with his question.

"I want to know about the real you."

The real you who was angry. The real you who was bitter about the world. That was the Kuroko Tetsuya that I wanted to know.

"You already did, Aomine-kun."

"No," he shook his head. "I know the real you. But I don't know _about_ the real you. What's the deal with anger issues? You need a hand to contact the anger management issue agent or something?" It was probably a bad time to crack a joke, but Tetsu smiled so it was worth it and he knew he was not doing this the wrong way.

"Not at all, Aomine-kun. It's just that I never talk about it with anybody else. I'm used to keeping it to myself. It's...it's horrible, okay?"

Of course he knew it was horrible. But Aomine would not back down now. This had gone for far too long. He couldn't possibly let Tetsu bear all the burden himself. At least if they were going to spend the rest of their lives with each other, they needed to get this out of the way. If only it was that simple. But Aomine pressed further.

"I won't let you keep it to yourself if it's as horrible as you said. I'm with you. I won't leave."

Tetsu stopped again, looking up at him with wonders in his blue eyes and puffs of visible cold air escaping through his lips. At that moment, Aomine felt like the luckiest person ever. For having Tetsu tied to him at the other end of the red string of fate and for having a friend like Midorima. Perhaps he would give the Oha-asa freak something when this was over. He deserved at least that much.

"I…" Tetsu paused. "This is going to be horrible. For you and me. I-I know what Midorima-kun said, but-"

"Tetsu!" Aomine's patience was running thin. He gathered the smaller boy into his arms, reassuring him that there was no way he was abandoning him. He felt the tremor that raked over Tetsu's body. Tetsu was holding it there, fighting to keep himself together. Aomine's grip tightened.

"I won't let you do this all alone. I'm telling you that my eternity is only with you. So tell me. Tell me that horrible thing and I'll be there."

It was a very faint sound, but Tetsu choked a sob and leaned further into his chest. Aomine's shadow leaped onto Tetsu's head, watching the ordeal with calm reproachful eyes from his new position. Tetsu's shadow in the background stayed so still it could have been a statue.

"I-I see numbers, Aomine-kun. Horrible numbers on top of people's head. They're pretty, golden and shining, but it brings horrible meaning."

He knew then, what number he was talking about. There's only one eye that involved number on people. The owners either lost in their own madness or became infamous. It was known as the most cursed eye. People hated it and steered clear of the owners. Some were locked up when their mouth became too talkative. Aomine shuddered.

"Tetsu…is it the counting-eye?"

He nodded.

Counting-eye. Its name was ordinary and assuming. But people knew better what it counted. The years, days, hours, minutes and seconds people had until their lives were snatched away. Many seek those to change their fate. But they never seemed to survive. The counting-eye owners were also usually shunned away from the society. People hated it when their fate became certain. They were afraid of their approaching dooms. Aomine always thought they were fools. Their lives were never theirs to begin with. They became too arrogant, thinking they could keep their lives and played God.

"I'm here." He whispered, rubbing circles on Tetsu's back. "I'm here. You don't have to be alone again."

"I'm angry at people because they don't have to see it. I'm angry because I'm jealous! But the thing that I'm most angry about is-"

His voice faded, breaking at the end and it became the longest night yet. Aomine never quite knew what Tetsu was going to say at the end. It was always in his mind, even when they graduated high school and stayed in the same apartment.

Until four years later, Aomine Daiki stood in front of a grave with a grand bouquet of white rose in hand.

"Hey Tetsu." He put down the fresh flowers. The soil was still red and wet. There was nobody else left in the graveyard. Only him and Tetsu.

"Man, you just have to leave so soon, huh?" He brushed his fingers against the tombstone with a wistful smile. "I hated it when people played God. But right now, I wish I am. I would have known what you were trying to say years ago. I could have prevented it."

He put his hands inside the pocket of his brown overcoat, nuzzling the scarf he was wearing. His constant little companion stayed quiet on his left shoulder. He knew what kind of face it was making. He turned, and his guess was right. Calm, accepting eyes that held a tint of sadness decorated its face along with pursed lips. Just like his.

"Hey little guy," he patted its head with his left index finger, smiling softly at the indignant scowl he got. "It's just us again, huh? Yeah, I know it sucks that Tetsu's gone, but we can't stay depressed for long. Tetsu would kick our ass in the afterworld later."

Its nerves slackened, turning into a dejected puddle of chocolate.

Still keeping up the smile, he turned again to the tombstone. "We were never good enough, weren't we Tetsu? You never told us that you were angry with your fate. I failed you. I let you counted your days alone. Would Kagami have made a difference?"

Pause, then he laughed. "Of course not. After all, it was me who was tied to you, right? It's not like Midorima would lie about it. You know, I asked him again. If I'm tied to anyone else, that is. He said no. You get what that means right? You were the only one for me. Well, I wouldn't have had it any other way.

"I should have been more courageous. Kinder. We…I wasted years because I'm afraid. I left bitter memories for you, but you left the most beautiful ones for me."

He took out an object from his pocket. His shadow grunted, daring him to do it. Aomine chuckled. "Yes, yes. I'm doing it. Man, we should have done this sooner, didn't we?" His shadow mimicked what he had said years ago with exaggerated flair and mocking lips movement.

_We have eternity with him. Let's not be hasty._

Well, clearly, they didn't have eternity anymore. So he put down the ring on the tombstone. It didn't look right. It could be swept away by rain or wind. Somebody could snatch it. He bent down and dug a small hole, dropping the item into it and burying it with the soil.

"Well, that's about, right. What do you say ramen for dinner?" His shadow shrugged uncaringly, eyes fixed forlornly on the grave. Aomine gave its head one last pat before grazing his lips against the tombstone. His shadow leaped onto it, also kissing it. Aomine reached out a hand for it to step onto and put it back on his shoulder.

"Well, see you tomorrow, Tetsu. I'll drop by first thing in the morning and on the afternoon, we can drink together. What do you say?"

There was no answer, of course. Aomine sighed and smiled. Hands in his pocket, he turned away, a hand raised to wave.

* * *

"_I'm angry at people because they don't have to see it. I'm angry because I'm jealous! But the thing that I'm most angry about is how unfair our fate is! I will be gone in four years and you will spend another year alone before following my footsteps! How is this fair?!"_

* * *

_End._

**A/N**: This was the fastest 5k words fic I've ever executed. Well, it was mostly description so. I can't make it more dramatic. Sorry. I didn't actually planned Kuroko's death but you know writers. Their hands have a mind of their own. This was inspired from a fanart where Aomine can see these shadows. It's a funny strip but this is how it turned out when it's up to me. Aomine and Midorin's meeting is inspired from the doujin, The Weather Tomorrow. It's my favorite AoKuro doujin. Un-beta-ed.

* * *

黒子のバスケ © Fujimaki Tadatoshi


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